The Bible is full of greetings, and our worship leader greets us in God’s name.
Romans 1:7
To all who are in Christ, beloved of God, called to be saints: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We begin our worship with a silent meditation on our Psalm of the Day during the Prelude. Use this time to focus your hearts and minds on God as he speaks to us through his Word.
Psalm 16
A miktam of David.
1 Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names on my lips.
5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Prelude in C Major (BWV 545)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ruth Pfister, organ
Our Call to Worship draws us into conversation with our God, and is usually taken from our Psalm of the Day. We address one another and enter God’s presence together.
From Psalm 16
Leader: Say to the LORD: “You are my Lord! Apart from you I can do no good thing!
People: We claim him alone as our portion and our cup!
Leader: Praise the LORD, who counsels you; who, even at night gives instruction to your heart!
People: We make our hearts glad! We loosen our tongues with joy! We sense in our very bodies the security of his protection!
Leader: Let us walk upon his path of life together!
People: We long for the fullness of joy in his presence; for the eternal pleasures that await us at his right hand!
Leader: Let us worship God!
Having called one another to God’s praise, we turn to God and ask for his presence and power.
From Psalm 16
Mighty God, indeed we have no refuge apart from your loving care and in your everlasting security. Enfold us within your protective walls and remind us in this hour that in you our defense is sure. Everlasting Treasure, there is no good thing that lasts apart from you, and every good and perfect gift you give us is ours because you–our greatest treasure of all–are ours in Christ Jesus. Allow us to taste and see your goodness afresh today, and to become more convinced still that you are the giver of life, and that in Christ’s life and in his kingdom, everything else is added unto us as well. Rich and generous King, thank you for giving us an royal inheritance greater even than King David’s, in Christ Jesus, great David’s greater son! May we enjoy in this time together the down payment of our rich inheritance as we experience the power and pleasure of worship in your Spirit and truth! Make our hearts glad. Make our mouths rejoice! And give us a foretaste of the joy and pleasure that will be ours together forever, in and with Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns at your right hand with you and with your blessed Holy Spirit: one God, now and forever. Amen.
With our Song of Praise, we begin our worship by exalting God for who he is and what he has done.
For the Beauty of The Earth
Text: Folliott Sandford Pierpont (1864)
Tune: DIX, Conrad Kocher (1838)
Ruth Pfister, organ
For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.
For the wonder of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.
For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind’s delight,
For the mystic harmony
Linking sense to sound and sight.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.
For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.
For Thy Church, that evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.